Cocktail recipes to make at home on Valentine’s Day

You’ve exchanged the cards, cooked the dinner and picked the rom-com - why not make Valentine’s Day at home the perfect date by mixing up some cocktails?

Drink brands and experts have put together their favourite cocktail recipes for 14 February, plus other classics that can be enjoyed all year round.

Here’s what’s on The Week’s at-home Valentine’s Day cocktail menu.

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The Cotswolds Hanky Panky

The Cotswolds Distillery’s take on the classic cocktail created by Ada Coleman (the first female head bartender of the Savoy) in the early 1900s. Incredibly complex botanical flavours, piney juniper, vanilla, earthy herbs and light smoky spice with a touch of citrus freshness. A fervent and sophisticated cocktail.

• 45ml Cotswolds Dry Gin
• 45ml Cotswolds Vermouth
• 10ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• 5ml Cotswolds Whisky Amaro Liqueur No.2

Place all of the ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and fine strain into a chilled martini glass.

The Botanist Gin Pomegranate Martini

This pomegranate martini from The Botanist Gin is a true gin lover’s dream. Certain to impress your loved one, this handsome cocktail is filled with sweet and delicate gin botanicals, vermouth and delicious hints of pomegranate, complete with a thyme garnish. Just remember this time - it’s stirred not shaken.

• 70ml The Botanist Gin
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh pomegranate arils
• 15ml dry vermouth
• Garnish: sprig of fresh thyme

Muddle pomegranate arils with gin and allow it to steep (1-2 hours). Add the infused gin and vermouth to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Cover Club by The Retreat

Created by The Retreat at Blue Lagoon in Iceland, this cocktail requires dry shaking so be sure to assemble the following ingredients into the cocktail shaker without ice.

• 30ml Marberg Gin
• 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml syrup
• 3-4 muddled raspberries
• 20ml egg white (pasteurised)

Start by cleaning and inspecting the raspberries to make sure they are good and dropping them into the shaker. Next up the liquid ingredients are placed into the shaker and shake together rigorously. Add ice to the shaker and shake everything again. Double strain everything with a cocktail sieve into a chilled cocktail glass. If the steps have been followed a nice foam should have formed on top of the drink. Garnish with dried and crumbled raspberries.

Caskshare’s Roffignac Valentine’s Day Cocktail

Created by Thomas Solberg of Little Bat to celebrate the launch of online whisky initiative Caskshare, this unique Valentine’s cocktail opens up a 12-year-old ex-red wine cask whisky, drawing out the fruity and floral unpeated whisky from its contact with the red wine oak.

• 50ml Glen Moray
• 30ml pomegranate syrup
• 10ml cider vinegar
• Ginger ale
• Garnish: orange zest

Build all ingredients and a dash of ginger ale in a highball/slim jim glass. Top up with ginger ale and add cubed ice as needed.

The Cointreau Sparkling Margarita

Set the sparks alight with this lavish cocktail, complete with Cointreau, tequila, fresh lime juice, a spoon of syrup, sparkling wine, and optional edible pearlescent powder. With hints of fizz, sweet syrup, and citrus freshness, this margarita tastes as good as it looks and makes the perfect date night tipple to enjoy at home.

• 20ml Cointreau Limited Edition by Vincent Darré
• 30ml blanco tequila
• 15ml fresh lime juice
• 1 bar spoon simple syrup
• 1 shake edible pearlescent powder (optional)
• Sparkling wine

Pour all ingredients directly into a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a lime twist.

The Metaxa Breakfast in Bed

Ditch the morning coffee and surprise your loved one with a Metaxa Breakfast in Bed. This smooth and creamy cocktail, beautifully finished with rose petals, makes the perfect treat to start your day.

• 50ml Metaxa 12 Stars
• 15ml Cointreau
• 10ml crème de cacao
• 1 spoon of rose marmalade
• 20ml lemon juice
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters

Shake, double strain and serve in a coupette glass. Garnish with a rose petal.

The Cotswolds Wild Passion Spritz

Featuring the Cotswolds Distillery’s No.1 Wildflower Gin, this refreshing spritz is fruity and bursting with sweet orange and tart citrus.

• 50ml Cotswolds No.1 Wildflower Gin
• 25ml lemon juice
• 15ml passion fruit syrup
• Top up with champagne or soda

Place all of the ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain over ice into a gin glass. Top up with champagne or soda and stir.